Back in Konoha the next day, Ay paced the space in front of the gates "Damn brat where the hell is she, she and Darui should have been here by now" Ay growled, extremely agitated at the moment.
Stood out of the way was Cee who was concentrating and stretching out his senses in hopes of feeling the two's chakra "There Raikage-sama a few miles out, they've stopped for some reason but they feel fine" Cee said.
Once he could sense Darui and Sakura's chakra "About time" Ay sneered, though he did calm to everyone in the vicinity's relief, half an hour later the duo came into sight, hair windswept, clothes ruffled but ultimately okay.
"Raikage-sama" Sakura waved, seeing the huge hulking man, keeping up a smile despite how awkward she felt, the reason being she had the transformed Kazekage on her pinky in the form of a ring with a dark maroon gem.
And on her head, as a hairband to pin her bangs back was a transformed Mangetsu "Just a little further Sakura, we'll have to talk to Boss and afterwards we can go straight to the Hokage" Darui reassured.
Knowing that the pinkette was uncomfortable "What took you two so long, it should have been a simple two day trip from Iron to here so that Sakura could rest the remaining three days" Cee frowned once the duo had come to a stop.
Darui signed in first, shooting Sakura a look "Uh we took a small detour to the small village I lived in for three years and came from the direction of Wind Country" Sakura explained, feeling a bit guilty that Cee had so obviously worried, the Raikage to.
When she caught him giving her a thorough look over "And I'd just like to tell you Boss, that Sakura managed it, she can use black lightning" Darui chimed in, Cee's eyes grew wide, while Ay smirked broadly.
Clapping Sakura on the back gently "Knew you had it in ya brat, now sign in I'm sure your ready to get home but you have to see the Hokage first" Ay declared, having had little doubt that Sakura would be able to learn what Darui had wanted to teach her.
"Yes I do, for a matter of extreme importance even" Sakura nodded, agreeing with Ay that she needed to see the Third and hurriedly signed in before vanishing in a flurry of pink petals, Cee raised a pale brow at her unique body flicker signature item.
Though if he thought about it cherry blossoms made sense "Hold on it's a simple meeting to check in and let him know she's back so why did she say her meeting was extremely important" Cee questioned, processing Sakura's odd words.
His partner shook his head indicating out in the open wasn't the best place to talk about that "Darui, before I thought it was my imagination but I'm right how something was off about you and the brat" Ay scowled.
Leading his subordinates to the hotel and once in his reserved room activated a sound proofing seal "On our way through Wind, we caught Orochimaru in the act of assassinating the Kazekage, Kid saved him but the Snake Sannin's probably already impersonating the man" Darui relented.
Unable to disobey a direct order, not that he would have, he'd had every intention of telling his leader the truth but only once they were in a secure location, Ay frowned "The reason you didn't sense him was because he was the ring on Sakura's finger, to hide his presence" Darui said next.
Suspecting that he was about to be asked that particular question "Great even after all this time Sakura can still give me the most excruciating of migraines" Cee groaned, rubbing his temples, fingertips glowing green to soothe away the pounding in his forehead.
Meanwhile the object of all his frustrations had finally gotten in to see the Hokage "Welcome back Sakura-chan, I trust you trained hard" Hiruzen greeted warmly, pleased to see the girl doing alright for the most part.
The rosette bobbed her head in answer "Definitely Hokage-sama…though there are a couple of things you should know" Sakura grinned for a second, before adopting a neutral expression because she knew what she had to say would be a hard pill to swallow.
One of them would be anyway "I'm listening…no, and what if I sealed the room off, so it's that kind of conversation" the Hokage leaned forward, Sakura shook her head so he made a hand sign activating the seal that protected his office.
With the room secure Sakura took the ring from her finger and carefully placed it down, her hairband to in dual puffs of smoke the Kazekage and a Mist Shinobi that should be dead were stood in front of him.
A kunai was in his hand almost instantly, he was ready to throw the weapon to but stopped when Sakura stood in the way and spread her arms "Hokage-sama please, I know your wary, confused, but this is truly Kazekage-sama, the one you met with is Orochimaru in disguise" Sakura pleaded.
Desperate for him to believe her "The girl is correct Hokage, your former student tried to kill me, I did end up dying for a brief moment, she saved my life" Rasa interjected himself into the conversation at hand.
Not sparing Mangetsu even a glance "Even so, the Kazekage was plotting a coup d'etat will you still stand before him and protect him Sakura and what of that Mist Shinobi, he's killed countless of your people in the past shall I grant him a pardon as well" Hiruzen frowned.
Revealing some news "What Mangetsu did is in the past, he died and repented for that, you can't put him on trial and have him executed on those grounds alone Hokage-sama, will you deny him a chance to show he's changed by changing his allegiance" Sakura shot back.
Making a pretty damn good argument "And while that is fairly bad, I believe Lord Kazekage has learned from his mistake in allying with Orochimaru who betrayed him" Sakura declared, meeting the Third Hokage's glare head on.
"Your holding something back, I can tell Sakura, so what are you hiding" Mangetsu commented, speaking up for the first time after the girl had defended him solidly, this earned him a glare before Sakura sighed.
Lowering her gaze to the floor "Mifune-dono has a Haruno Family Registry, I'm distantly related to Lord Kazekage by four generations, he's from a side branch and I'm from the main family since my Dad was the heir of the merchant clan" Sakura admitted.
Hiruzen glanced to Rasa "I thought something about you looked familiar" Rasa confirmed, thinking back to the last pink haired person he knew, Kizashi Haruno, who'd married a woman from Iron named Mebuki and they'd had a little girl before all of them had went missing.
"Do you happen to still have that registry so that I may look at it and make sure you have no other potentially dangerous connections" the Hokage requested, holding out his hand, inwardly he was planning on destroying the thing.
She shook her head "No, he didn't give it to me just let me look at it in case I wanted to reach out to any other relatives I still have but you don't have to worry besides Kazekage-sama there was no one else on the registry of such high standing" Sakura assured.
Just branch family Haruno's scattered around the five great nations, "I see, well in accordance to the argument Sakura made, Mangetsu Hozuki, you'll be watched for a month to determine if your trustworthy then I'll review your case and make my decision based off that on whether you receive a hitai-ate" Hiruzen sighed.
Taking a seat once more, slightly irritated that things were not going his way at all lately not since Sakura had come back to Leaf anyway "Understood Lord Hokage am I assuming that in the meantime I'll be staying with Sakura" Mangetsu bowed.
At his question the Hokage nodded "For your safety Kazekage, I suggest you not let anyone know until the last minute that you still live, I know Orochimaru disguised as you has already made contact with those from your village that are here in Leaf" Hiruzen said.
Casting his gaze onto Rasa "Valid reasoning" Rasa nodded, assuming his previous transformation of a ring, Sakura fitted him onto her finger, did the same for Mangetsu who transformed back into the hairband, bowed to the Hokage and finally left his office.
Over the rooftops Sakura leaped, heading straight home despite how much she wanted to go see Karin, this was more important at the moment "Sakura, hey Big Sis it's Sakura when did you get back" Nawaki waved excitably when she dropped down from the roof of her house.
In front of the door, Tsunade paused in opening the door to her own house and quirked a pale blonde brow at the ruffled girl "Hey Nawaki, Lady Tsunade and today actually, about an hour ago" Sakura greeted.
Pausing and pasting a smile onto her lips for the siblings "Did you hear about what happened" Tsunade questioned, leaning against the door to her house and wondering if the Hokage had informed the pinkette of the incident involving her adopted sister.
"Hmm…about Karin-chan you mean, yes Tsunade-sama, anyway I'm kinda tired from the trip so I'm gonna head in now and try to get some sleep, make the most of the last couple of days to rest" Sakura furrowed her brow.
Before realizing what the woman was talking about, Tsunade waved her off and dragged Nawaki into their own house despite his sulking, alone now Sakura rushed into the foyer of her house, then locked the door behind her.
When she felt it was devoid of any life indicating that not even Karui or Omoi had stayed there while she, Karin and Haku were gone for the month 'Probably for the best because I really don't want to explain the Kazekage's presence or Mangetsu's' Sakura thought to herself.
As she went around drawing blood seals, courtesy of one of the books she'd found until her house was safe for Rasa and Mangetsu "Look regarding what you said in the office, I have no intention of acknowledging you as family to myself understood" Rasa informed.
Mangetsu scowled "She saved your life Kazekage, would you really deny Sakura the chance to get to know you as family" Mangetsu growled, not liking that the man was being such a bastard to a child, one who was family.
Sakura held up her hand "No, Kazekage-sama is right, I only revealed that knowledge because you opened your mouth Mangetsu, before that I had no intention of ever telling him or reaching out in order to connect with one another" Sakura declared.
"What…Sakura how could you be so cold, scratch that be equally as cold as him, he's your family, whether he want's to admit it or not, you need that connection" Mangetsu furrowed his brows in confusion.
Not having realized Sakura could be so cold-hearted "I understand what your saying Mangetsu but I can't do it, lose people anymore I mean, even if Kazekage-sama hadn't known, if we hadn't been trekking through Wind he'd still be dead and that would be one less relative I'd have" Sakura smiled sadly.
It was then Mangetsu understood, it wasn't that she was being cold, Sakura was just incredibly loving, his heart dropped at the amount of suffering she'd been through "Anyway I'm sure anything that's in the cabinets is rotted so I'm going to go buy groceries" Sakura announced.
Quickly escaping from the stifling tension in the house, the door slammed shut behind her leaving Rasa and Mangetsu in unsettling silence "I fear I'm a bit lost over the matter, I was certain that the whole family had been killed almost eight years ago" Rasa frowned.
Unfortunately Mangetsu didn't have the answer he was looking for as the other man shrugged "Look all I know is that Sakura lost her memories for seven years and lived in Kumogakure for four of those years" Mangetsu explained.
Rasa settled some at the partial answer, resolving himself to wait until the pinkette returned to get the full story "Sorry for taking so long, I got caught by a friend" Sakura apologized, entering the house forty five minutes after leaving.
Arms full of bags and Mangetsu took half of them for her "Explain how you still live, I heard your entire family was killed" Rasa demanded, following the girl into the kitchen as she started putting things away and throwing things away at the same time.
Jade orbs flashed his way for a second "Somehow survived the explosion that killed my parents, lost all of my memories, got raised for three years by a woman named Isha, wandered into Lightning territory when I was eight then got taken into Cloud by the Raikage" Sakura stated.
Deciding to just get it over with "Your obviously intelligent yet no one adopted you" Rasa questioned, wondering why no one had taken an interest in raising Sakura if she was as bright as she'd shown him in just a day.
"One thing you should know Kazekage-sama is that I don't trust easily, I can be kind and courteous but I'm extremely paranoid and I don't let people close often by the time I arrived in Kumo, I was jaded and mistrustful of everyone and everything around me, so nope" Sakura said.
Lips formed into a flat smile "Basically you raised yourself is what your saying, though what I don't get if you were so un-trusting how'd you get so close to that Karin girl" Mangetsu inquired, confused while a headache raged through his skull.
In response she tensed "Karin…well that's her story to tell if she wants to, just know that I'd risk everything for her" Sakura announced, checking through her cabinets one last time to make sure before moving on to make a light snack to tide them over until lunch.
"Trust me I know, if you going crazy was any indication of how important that redhead was to you" Mangetsu grunted, a bit irritated that she hadn't elaborated, though he knew he couldn't blame her, she'd been going through some pretty terrible things recently.
Eventually after eating some sandwiches the three of them congregated into the living room and Sakura curled up completely in one of the armchairs after pulling out a book to read, two hours later, her head was just tilting back, eyes drooping shut from tiredness.
When banging erupted on her front door, Sakura was on her feet in a second flat, Shūryō-suru in her hand and unsheathed "Brat are you in there" the Raikage's voice called out loudly having been given her address by Samui most likely or Omoi and Karui she wasn't sure.
But Sakura was just glad that it wasn't Danzo or any of his root operatives attempting something as she went to answer the door "Raikage-sama" Sakura greeted with a yawn once he was stood in her foyer, alone to her surprise.
A yelp escaped from her mouth a moment later as he flicked her on the forehead lightly "I'm having lunch with you and your guests" Ay informed tone indicating that he wouldn't be taking no for an answer and to not argue with him over the matter.
"Okay, in that case I better get started" Sakura shrugged, gesturing him further into the house on her heels, through the living room, Ay studiously ignored its occupants and into the kitchen where Sakura pulled out ingredients from the cabinets.
Prepping things for lunch "We need to talk about what you accomplished brat, when did you want to get the tattoo" Ay tapped his finger on the table, eyes to and froing as she padded back and forth cutting or mincing a vegetable or slab of meat.
There was a slight pause for a second before Sakura caught herself and moved on to actually heating up some oil in her wok and pouring some rice into a pot of water that she sat on a different burner on her stove.
"Well I intend on taking a nap after this and I'll probably sleep clear up to dinner, unless you wanted me to get it today my nap could wait" Sakura admitted, stirring the rice so it didn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
Before cooking the vegetables and meat for a stir-fry "No point in putting it off, so we'll go get it done after you eat" Ay nodded in response, getting comfortable and twenty minutes later lunch was ready to be eaten.
The Kazekage and Mangetsu joined Sakura and the Raikage around the table, ate the good food that had been cooked then returned to the living room, since the entire meal had been mostly spent in utter silence.
And once the dishes were done up Sakura and Ay left the house in order to find a tattoo parlor "Put this on her….left shoulder, this spot" Ay ordered, placing down the design of the tattoo after signing the papers and tapped the spot on Sakura's arm where it would go.
Forty minutes later, Sakura had the black lightning tattoo "Can I heal it" Sakura asked the artist who'd done her tat, raising a glowing green hand indicating that she could use the mystical palm jutsu.
He waved her off to her relief and a couple minutes later the tattoo was healed and no longer hurting "Good get gone brat and make sure you rest, we don't need you keeling over day after tomorrow" Ay growled.
Nudging the pinkette in the direction of her house "Right….take care Raikage-sama" Sakura waved lightly, vanishing in a flurry of cherry blossoms not wasting anymore time in getting home where she disappeared into her room to take her much needed nap.
Until she emerged a few hours later to start on dinner "Looking better Sakura, your missing the bags under your eyes finally" Mangetsu teased, as she padded through the living room, much more alert than he'd seen her the past several days.
Green orbs rolled upwards "Thank you Mangetsu like I really needed to be told I looked terrible in a roundabout way it's not like hadn't already figured that out for myself already" Sakura intoned sarcastically to his amusement.
Even Rasa couldn't remain unaffected as he quirked a maroon brow upwards that was missed entirely since Sakura had already entered the kitchen "Hmm such a strange child" Rasa mused under his breath with a shake of his head.
Not even realizing he was falling into the trap that many had already fallen into, he was becoming intrigued with Sakura "Dinner's ready" the pinkette called an hour later it having taken her longer because she'd wanted something more substantial to eat for supper.
They were just sitting down at the table, plates made and ready to dig in to the delicious looking food when the door slammed open "SAKURA" a voice Mangetsu had only heard once yelled, a second later the redhead named Karin flew into the kitchen.
Sakura stood in the nick of time as Karin tackled her "Hi Karin…ow" Sakura wheezed, feeling Karin trying to squeeze the life out of her "There was no need to tackle me or shout like that was there" she frowned after a moment.
Karin blushed sheepishly in response "Your right there was no need to do either of those things, sorry but I'm really glad your back home, we're never spending a month apart ever again" Karin declared with a growl.
"Me to, I'm glad I'm home as well" Sakura breathed, feeling as if everything was going to be okay now that they were together once more and she hugged her adopted sister tightly until someone cleared their throat.
Green orbs shot open to meet doe brown "Guess I was forgotten about, all Sakura cares about is Ka…oooof" Haku began in a teasing tone only to have Sakura slam into him, he didn't get quite the suffocating hug that Karin got before the rosette released him.
But it was enough for him "Of course I missed you to Haku, things just aren't the same if we aren't together as a team" Sakura assured, staring up at him with a smile before remembering that she had food waiting on the table for her to eat.
So she sat and her teammates joined her while she ate "Just thought I'd let you know as well Sakura since I'm here you know but I came by a couple times and one of those times it felt as if someone had broken into the house" Karin grimaced.
"Even sensei agreed something felt off, though no one figured out what got disturbed" Haku added "Nothing was taken we believe, the house just got entered is all" Haku hastened to reassure when it looked like Sakura was about to jump up and rush off.
That wasn't what he wanted in the least "I'm still going to check, later though" Sakura announced clearly incensed that someone thought they could enter her home, it was just another reason on a long list of reasons that made her think that Leaf really wasn't the place for her.
It was to full of problems really "Course you are, little miss paranoid, what are you so worried about anyway, it's not like you have anything valuable in this house" Mangetsu snorted, prompting Sakura to roll her eyes at him for the millionth time.
The Kazekage was silent during this time, merely listening to the conversation around him "How are you intending on checking if the intruder took something" Rasa questioned after a time had passed and they'd finished eating dinner.
All of them back in the living room, not that he had to wait long for his answer when Sakura let her gaze scan the entirety of the room they were in only to pause "What is it Sakura…oh the picture of us and Cee-sensei" Karin frowned.
Seeing Sakura walking towards the shelf, standing her tip-toes she reached beyond the picture feeling for something only to come away empty handed "Your scroll with all the books" Haku realized.
She nodded "Just the copies, I can make more, because they don't have the originals remember" Sakura shrugged, reminding Haku of the fact that she'd given the originals of her books from Isha to their sensei.
Haku chuckled under his breath "Why do you make everything complicated, I don't even see how you figured something was missing from behind that picture" Mangetsu sighed, knowing that he was probably most likely going to be driven to insanity during the next month.
A fuschia brow was quirked his way "It was off by a centimeter, plus the books that got taken are extremely valuable to Hidden Leaf anyway an Uzumaki wrote them and everyone knows that the Uzumaki and Leaf were allies" Sakura answered simply.
"The reason you were in possession of such books is because….." Rasa prodded, hoping the girl would elaborate, not to mention he was curious over the fact that it didn't seem like she trusted the Hokage or Leaf in general.
Verdant orbs met hazel "My sensei wrote them, the woman who raised me for three years when I couldn't remember, Isha Uzumaki, she gave them to me when she passed away but I didn't get them until four years later" Sakura informed.
Purple irises widened "That was the name on the grave you visited in Hayashi no Kuni" Mangetsu commented, suddenly understanding more about Sakura than in the near month he'd been back and hanging around the girl.
"You don't trust the Hokage" Rasa butt in again with a serious accusation, Mangetsu felt shock when Sakura didn't deny it, in fact Karin shared in Sakura's uncomfortable shifting while the boy, Haku as he'd been called frowned.
Directing his gaze onto the floor "No not really, I don't hate him or anything and I can be respectful, but Hokage-sama has done nothing to earn my loyalty considering he's tried manipulating us at every turn" Sakura declared simply.
Karin clutched her hand "It's not just that, one of the council members, Danzo has been trying to recruit Haku and I for an organization known as Root, yet Hokage-sama's done nothing, the only one who's tried was the Uchiha Clan Head" Karin chimed in.
"Now wait just a minute here, how do you know he's been trying to manipulate you, are you sure that's whats going on or just your sense of paranoia, what about the Raikage, you trust him enough to let him brand you with that tattoo" Mangetsu asked.
Immediately Karin and Haku rounded on Sakura who held down her sleeve that covered her left shoulder and shook her head at her teammates "Training related, you'll find out after the final round if I don't use it during my match" Sakura said.
Making the two back off because they'd all made a promise to not reveal what each other had learned "Anyway their not wrong, Lord Hokage is trying to manipulate them into staying here in Leaf when their time is up" Haku admitted.
Having heard it straight from the Uchiha Clan Heads mouth, not to mention Sakura and Karin were extremely perceptive "Also Mangetsu it's not a brand" Sakura scowled at the man after making sure her shoulder wouldn't be exposed.
From moving around, he didn't seem convinced "Well we should probably go, Itachi-san and Shisui-san are waiting for us on the roof" Karin sighed, tilting her head up as she sensed the two Uchiha's appear to escort them back to the compound.
The two adopted sisters hugged before Sakura saw them out of their own home and the duo were body flickered back to the Uchiha Compound "I don't get it, she didn't look all to special so why would you throw yourself into battle for her" Mangetsu asked tone full of confusion.
"You may not understand and very few probably ever will but in every sense of the word Karin is my sister and I'd die for her if I had to, to protect her from everything cruel about this world" Sakura gave him a truly terrifying smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Mangetsu quickly backed down at that and regarded the pinkette with wariness from then on until she disappeared from the living room to her bedroom to get some sleep for the night and eventually he and the Kazekage did the same.
And a day later after receiving multiple visits from people throughout the day it was time for the final round of the Chunin Exams "Just keep your guard up girl, I have no idea when Orochimaru's planning to make his move" Rasa reminded.
Just before transforming into a familiar ring "Watch it'll be during or after my match" Sakura snorted to Mangetsu as she slid the ring onto her pinky finger because the Hozuki was staying in the house since very few knew he was there at the moment.
Earning a smile that turned partially into a grimace "Good luck" Mangetsu waved encouragingly knowing that the day would be rough on Sakura, the entire Leaf Village itself actually, Sakura nodded then was gone in a whirlwind of petals.
To arrive at the arena chosen for the finals in record time "Sakura what are you wearing" Ino greeted from behind, appearing seconds after Sakura outside the large doors of the arena they'd be fighting in that day.
"Hmm oh something I made" Sakura grinned, glancing down at her outfit, her shirt was had loose elbow length sleeves, it was currant red but with a dark yellow buckle that clasped the front of it closed and cut off above her navel.
On the back in white was the crest of the Haruno family, beneath the shirt was an off white tank top with mesh underneath that, a dark yellow buckle went around her waist, for her lower half she wore a skirt that was long in the back with slight ruffles and short in the front.
It cut off at her upper thighs while the back part went below her knee's to her calf's, it was also currant red and held in place by the belt underneath were black lower thigh length shorts that could be tied in place with black string that was already tied in a neat little bow.
For the rest of her outfit she had on currant red gloves and ankle high sandals, she wore no armor but Shūryō-suru was held in place by the belt on her waist as her Kumo hitai-ate was tied around her stomach with a dark yellow sash, her Leaf hitai-ate was tied loosely around her neck with the red ribbon Ino had given her.
Speaking of Ino, she couldn't help but whistle "Damn if I knew you could be quite the fashionista Sakura I'd have asked you to make me clothes long ago" Ino exclaimed, admiring the work of art that was displayed right before her on her best friend.
Who giggled "The first outfits free, but anything else will cost you now shall we go in" Sakura announced, gesturing at the doors that blocked their entrance, Ino nodded and helped push open the large doors so that they could go in.
Where they found out that three other contestants were already waiting, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino and minutes after Karui and Omoi showed up "New outfit again" Karui cocked a vermilion brow at the pinkette.
Because she was wearing different clothes than the ones she'd left in "Handmade Karui, I'm really getting into making clothes, so in another month or so I'll be wearing something different most likely" Sakura explained.
Carding her fingers through her free bangs "Never pegged you for the type to wear jewelry Sakura" Omoi commented, seeing the silver ring with a small dark maroon gem on the pinkette's right hand pinky finger.
"I'm not to be honest, this was just a little trinket I picked up and thought it'd go great with the outfit I doubt I'll wear it after today ever again" Sakura hummed, being truthful but not revealing the truth at the same time.
Close by, Shino narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses while Shikamaru frowned lightly sensing that something was off just as they were joined by more final round contestants, Hinata, Choji, Naruto, Karin and Haku.
At that point the only people they were missing were Sasuke, Nawaki, Temari and Kankuro, all of whom showed up five minutes later as the proctor approached "Quiet, you lot are the heroes of today so straighten up, I'm Genma Shiranui your proctor and I'll be explaining the rules" Genma commanded.
Eyeing two genin in particular, Sakura and Karin, the kunoichi straightened beneath his gaze "Right rules, their pretty much the same as the preliminary round and if I think you can't go on I can step in and stop the match so everyone off the field except for Haku and Neji" Genma ordered.
Haku sighed softly as Sakura walked away from him after shooting him an encouraging smile before facing his opponent Neji Hyuga and settled into a defensive position, Neji however merely stood still, keeping his arms crossed, attempting to stare down at him with arrogance in his eyes.
Meanwhile Sakura got stopped from heading up into the waiting area by Shino of all people, Shikamaru hung back as well "Everything alright Shino" Sakura asked, kind of already guessing that he sensed something off.
Thanks to his kikaichu and Shikamaru was to perceptive for his own good "That is no ordinary ring your wearing, its someone transformed, the chakra is someone I don't recognize, you aren't planning on cheating are you" Shino accused.
"No Shino, your right, I knew I wouldn't be able to get away from hiding it completely but like I said no I'm not gonna cheat or anything but I can't tell you the truth either for safety reasons, I can explain after this day ends though" Sakura shook her head.
Deciding to be truthful "We're holding you to that promise Sakura, now come on you two I'm sure Sakura doesn't want to miss Haku's match against Neji" Shikamaru snorted, prompting them to hurry up the stairs.
The match had already begun unfortunately "He's trying to make Neji waste as much chakra as possible, it's a good strategy since Hyuga's been relying on that rotation technique" Sasuke relayed when Sakura finally showed up.
Sakura nodded her head in understanding then leaned on the railing to watch as Haku danced around the arena, showing off by evading everything Neji threw at him when the Hyuga came after him, while using very little chakra himself.
Every once in awhile Haku would throw a barrage of weapons that varied from shuriken to kunai and his favorite throwing needles at Neji who would then use one of his clan techniques in order to block all the pointy objects coming his way.
"Look he's slowing down, guess that jutsu takes a lot of chakra" Nawaki pointed out a couple minutes later after the sixth eight trigrams palm rotation, obviously if he could tell that, then so could Haku.
Who nodded to himself and put his hands together to weave hand signs "Futon: Freezing Wind Sickles" Haku called out, holding his palms outwards as he unleashed the never before heard of jutsu on Neji.
Wind took on the shape of little scythes and upon dodging one the ground froze "If I were you Neji, I'd pay attention" Haku smirked, glad that his hard work had paid off in the form of a new jutsu to use that combined his ice release with wind release.
Neji glared furiously "Don't think you've won yet, just because you managed to surprise me, a loser will always be a loser after all" Neji boasted, and Haku rolled his eyes at the sheer arrogance of the younger teenager in front of him.
Then dodged as the Hyuga came after him again "Unfortunately this match is mine" Haku informed, sensing that Neji was about out of chakra which meant he couldn't use that rotation technique anymore or risk giving himself chakra exhaustion.
And after delivering a kick to Neji's side that sent him flying sideways, Haku pressed a senbon to the Hyuga's neck "Forfeit, unless you want this in your neck and trust me I know every pressure point in the human body" Haku threatened.
Pressing the tip of his favored weapon into the flesh of Neji's jugular on the pressure point that would put someone into a false death state, unable to move, out of chakra and hurting "Proctor as I am unable to go on I forfeit this match to Haku Yuki" Neji growled out.
Furious that he'd lost twice to this person now "You heard it, as Neji has forfeited, Haku wins the first match" Genma declared to the crowd and judges, extremely impressed, the boy was most likely going to be promoted.
Immediately Haku drew away from Neji as medics appeared to cart the injured off to the infirmary "One of these days I will get you back for this" Neji sneered, still not having lost his arrogance in the slightest despite being defeated.
His opponent could care less though, because he'd demonstrated all he needed "Right if the next candidates could come down here we'll start the next match between Kankuro Sabaku and Shino Aburame" Genma whistled.
Letting Haku get practically all the way off the field, "Uh I'm not feeling to great actually can I forfeit" Kankuro raised his hand, holding his stomach as he faked a stomachache in order to get out of his match.
Emerald irises glared at him as Shino was called the winner of his match by forfeit "Good luck Shikamaru" Sakura waved when Shikamaru sighed and began trudging down the steps, realizing that it was his turn to fight.
This got her a small wave back as Temari, her fifth cousin to be precise joined him on his trek down the stairs where they appeared down on the field to stand across from one another "Shikamaru's gonna lose on purpose" Choji commented.
Suddenly standing right next to Sakura, ever present bag of chips in his hand that he was munching on of course "Ho..How do you f..figure that Ch..Choji-kun" Hinata asked with a slight frown, worried about her own upcoming match against Ino.
"Eh Shikamaru's to lazy so he'll give up right at the end after making everyone think he's going to win and say the whole things to much of a drag" Choji explained around a mouthful of honey barbecue chips.
Fifteen minutes later Shikamaru did just that making half of them on the balcony groan because he was even more predictable than Naruto could be sometimes "Next contestants, Omoi and Karui please come down here unless you want to forfeit as well" Genma called.
Glancing up at the Cloud duo who shook their heads "No way Raikage-sama would probably demote us back to academy students if either one of us forfeited before fighting" Omoi shuddered, simply dropping down into the arena from the railing.
"There you go again with your overactive imagination Omoi, stop worrying so much and lets just fight shall we" Karui rolled her eyes slightly annoyed that even now Omoi could drive her insane despite being his teammate for months.
However she didn't deny that Ay would punish one or both of them if either of them had forfeited so after looking at the proctor, he brought his arm down starting the match and they charged one another, their swords clashed with a clang as sparks flew from where metal met metal.
Up above Naruto leaned over the railing in awe "Their better at kenjutsu than you are Sakura-chan, Karin-chan" Naruto whispered, nearly falling into the arena as he lost his balance only for the pinkette to grip the back of his jacket and with one arm right him properly on his feet again.
Sasuke who'd seen the scene out of the corner of his eye paled "You got better at that I see" Karin noted, inwardly snickering at Sasuke's expression at Sakura's display of brute strength and if she wasn't wrong Sakura hadn't even used chakra to lift Naruto.
Sakura nodded, glad that she didn't have to wear the weights anymore "But yes Naruto, of course they'd be better, Omoi and Karui have been learning how to fight with swords since we were eight, that's when the academy in Cloud started teaching kenjutsu" Sakura explained simply.
That wasn't to say she hadn't learned quite a bit over the past month herself, she knew she was nowhere near on par with her two friends from Kumo, who traded blows with their swords, jumping back and lunging at one another over and over.
Karui, if Sakura had to say was a tiny bit better and more vicious with her attacks "Are they trying to kill one another" Temari grimaced, when they charged their swords with lightning chakra that crackled.
"Never been anywhere except for Suna have you…that's normal in Kumogakure, its how we improve, Karui won't seriously hurt Omoi though, her plan I bet is to overcharge his neural pathways with lightning based chakra to make him incapable of fighting" Sakura informed.
Temari and Kankuro shot her disturbed looks just as Omoi went down "Ahhh, damn you always win no matter how hard I train" Omoi sulked as Karui was named the winner of their match and medics hurried onto the field to take him to the infirmary.
"Just how things are Omoi, sorry" Karui shrugged, sheathing her sword in the process as he was put on a stretcher and carted off, leaving her to walk back up the steps alone while Ino and Hinata were called down.
It was a rough fight for Ino because she couldn't stand still long enough to use her mind transfer jutsu in order to control Hinata's actions who attempted to disable her quickly, eventually though Ino figured out her opponents weakness.
Hinata was to kind to hurt her like Neji had his own teammate Lee "Hinata if you don't fight me seriously I'm going to beat you" Ino warned, preparing her strategy and opening herself up for an attack.
The quiet shy girl lowered her head "I…I won't lose" Hinata vowed a second later, not stuttering for once as she launched herself at Ino who was wide open, this proved to be her downfall because for as fast as she could close Ino's tenketsu.
Ino could heal and open her chakra points back up, midway through the attack Ino somehow got behind Hinata "Mind Transfer Jutsu" Ino called out making the necessary seal for her clan jutsu, her body slumped to the ground.
And Hinata she froze, struggling to overcome the invasion of Ino in her body, ever so slowly her hand rose "I, Hinata Hyuga forfeit this match to Ino Yamanaka" Hinata was forced to say despite the struggle.
Her opponent had proven to strong with her jutsu "Hinata forfeits, Ino wins" Genma announced, not terribly surprised that Inoichi's daughter had beat Hiashi's first born daughter, Ino had been the rookie kunoichi of her year after all.
"Guess it's our turn now huh Karin" Nawaki sighed not relishing in the idea of fighting his friend, his crush, because he'd come to really like the redhead after everything Karin and Sakura had done for him.
Karin nodded "Whatever happens Nawaki, remember we're still friends but I expect you to fight seriously as if your life depended upon it alright" Karin reminded and threw in a warning as an afterthought because she didn't want him going easy on her.
Nawaki agreed with extreme reluctance "You two ready then….good let the fight begin" Genma asked before starting the match, immediately Karin cartwheeled backwards to get out of range, speeding through a set of hand signs.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu" Karin spat balls of flame from her mouth and threw shuriken to hide within the flames, Nawaki paled slightly upon realizing she'd been completely serious about not going easy on him.
Then hurriedly flashed through his own hand signs "Doton: Earth Spike Wave" Nawaki yelled out, sending a wave of earth spikes at Karin while ducking under the balls of fire, multiple thunks could be heard indicating there had also been weapons hiding in the flames.
Only Genma heard Karin curse quietly under her breath before leaping high into the air, only to land neatly atop the spikes when the jutsu ended, soles of her feet glowing blue as she ran across the spikes.
Right before reaching him Nawaki unleashed another jutsu "Suiton: Rising Water Cutter" Nawaki said, kicking a powerful wave of water at Karin, not wanting her close because he knew that if Karin got close the match was as good as over and she'd be the victor of it.
Unfortunately Karin dodged the attack by leaping to the side finishing some hand signs "Shadow Clone Jutsu" and then there were two more Karin's that he had to worry about, one he managed to take out with a kunai.
But the second managed to get in a good punch to his shoulder and knock him back quite a few feet "Suiton: Raging Waves" Nawaki breathed out a wave of water, taking out the clone, Karin however had prepared for this.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu" Karin inhaled then exhaled a huge fireball that clashed with the water jutsu, creating a cover of steam that she took advantage of to make another clone then escaped underground.
After extinguishing her chakra completely so it couldn't be felt and moved into position beneath Nawaki who fought against her shadow clone valiantly while she focused on drawing on the power within her.
Pale glowing golden chains sprouted forth from her back "Time to finish this" Karin declared, controlling the adamantine attacking chains and directing them upwards to sprout out of the ground around her opponent.
And tighten around him as she emerged, dispelling her shadow clone at the same time "Wha…but how I thought" Nawaki blinked in confusion, seeing the redhead appear out of the ground in front of him.
Completely bound in whatever technique she was using, but it took him a couple of seconds to realize that his chakra was being suppressed with it "Heh clever I never expected this…proctor I forfeit, Karin's to strong for me" Nawaki let out a laugh.
Forfeiting like several others had already before him "Alright Nawaki Senju has forfeited his match that makes Karin Uzumaki the winner" Genma informed, having been massively surprised when the girl had come up out of the ground.
When he hadn't even been able to sense anything other than the clone "Choji, Naruto good luck to the both of you" Sakura clapped both boys on the shoulders gently when their names were called since they'd been pitted against one another.
"Yeah thanks Sakura-chan" Naruto gave the pinkette a thumbs up before jumping the railing because he didn't want to waste time going the steps, so instead he walked down the hall with chakra to reach the field faster.
Seeing what Naruto was doing Choji did the same "Thanks Sakura no matter who wins it's nice knowing that your secretly cheering the both of us on" Choji waved, attaching his feet to the wall and walking down.
Until he and Naruto met up in the middle of the arena and a minute later their fight was underway "I don't mean to be mean but neither Naruto or Choji have a knack for strategy, their just pounding on each other really" Haku said halfway.
After Naruto had spammed the shadow clone jutsu for the fifth time to rush Choji who mowed the clones down with his human boulder technique "Little boys" Karin giggled her amusement, even if Choji was older than her by a few weeks.
Eventually Naruto managed to overpower Choji by sheer numbers really thus the blonde won his match "Well guess it's time Sasuke" Sakura grinned, facing her opponent, who looked like he was on the verge of forfeiting.
"Might as well get this over with I suppose and Sakura don't you dare take it easy on me or I'll never forgive you got it" Sasuke glared, determined to make his match go down in the history books by giving his all against Sakura.
Sakura went to smirk and attain an air of superiority about her when a bad feeling curled in the pit of her stomach "Likewise Sasuke….and Karin-chan if you would please take care of this I'd appreciate it" Sakura pulled the transformed Kazekage from her finger.
Then handed him over in his ring transformation to the only other person she trusted one hundred percent besides the Raikage "Uh sure" Karin intoned in confusion, looking baffled as to why Sakura was even wearing jewelry.
She'd always told her that jewelry was to annoying, in a flurry of leaves Sakura and Sasuke were down in the arena "Hold on just a minute, it appears we have some last minute arrivals to watch the matches" the Hokage called out, absolute authority in his tone.
Prompting Genma to halt in the middle of bringing his arm down to start Sasuke and Sakura's match and for fifteen minutes the two teens stood there awkwardly until Mifune shuffled into the extra prepared seat in the booth, Okisuke and Urakaku assuming a position behind him.
"You two ready to fight…prepare yourselves then because this match has begun" Genma questioned, inwardly wondering why the Head Samurai from Iron had come to see the Chunin Exams it's not like any of his samurai were in the exam.
Immediately Sakura flipped backwards unwinding the bandages from her arms and legs quickly yet efficiently in order to strip off her weights, she let them drop and they dented the earth, Sakura enjoyed Sasuke's horrified expression for a second.
Before lunging faster than he expected Shūryō-suru unsheathed and pointed right at him "When I said don't take it easy on me I didn't mean get stronger right after our fight started" Sasuke grunted, brandishing his own sword.
Their swords met with a metallic ring "I would have taken them off right before but Darui told me not to until after the match started" Sakura explained, making small talk, distracting Sasuke enough to raise her foot and kick him in the side.
He went flying sideways only to flip and land neatly on his feet with a hiss of pain as his side throbbed from the blow 'Ow that fucking hurt' Sasuke cursed inwardly not daring to let her know that he was in some pain already.
But he didn't let that stop him as he charged, "Suiton: Water Whip" Sakura called out just as Sasuke got in range and started punching and kicking, reverting to taijutsu, the whip formed in her hand and she snapped it out at him.
It curled around his middle and with a heave she threw him up in the air, to further her attack she met him in the air by leaping high and baring down on him with her sword that he blocked with his own until they reached the ground and flipped to land on their feet again.
Sasuke though took a second longer than Sakura to right himself and he had to jump back and a crater formed where he'd been standing a moment ago, off to the side Genma began watching the fight even closer.
When Sakura sheathed her sword, Hayate would be jealous over it, if he could anyway but he was still in the hospital in a coma, and created three shadow clones that rushed Sasuke to keep him away from Sakura.
While she put her hands together focusing her chakra "Gale Style: Laser Beam" Sakura whispered softly after thrusting her palm out once her last clone got taken out by Sasuke and shot a beam of white/blue light at her opponent.
The boy went as pale as a ghost, seeing the destruction caused by the unfamiliar jutsu, once he felt it was safe enough to look anyway, "Are you going to get up Sasuke" Sakura asked, waiting patiently for him to get back up.
"Heh I'll make you regret not attacking me while I was down Sakura" Sasuke smirked, flying through hand signs "Chidori" Sasuke yelled, blue lightning crackled in his palm, followed by him charging.
Sakura slapped her hands onto the ground, concentrating then pulled away a wall of earth rising without her saying a word "Figures Kakashi-sensei taught you his signature technique" Sakura rolled her eyes at the predictability of males.
Poor Sasuke slammed into her earth wall and his hand got stuck in it from cutting straight through with his jutsu, Sakura leaped over the wall and aimed her foot at Sasuke's head "Yeah well what about you, I've never heard of Gale Style before" Sasuke grumbled.
Moving his head out of her foots trajectory only to duck as she clenched her hand into a fist and cocked her arm back he barely got out of the way the earth wall however got utterly decimated, freeing him thankfully.
The bad feeling in the pit of her stomach was getting stronger, then out of the corner of her eye she caught Karin signing at her [Enemy incoming forfeit match now] Sakura straightened "Genma-sensei I'd like to forfeit, Sasuke and I are to evenly matched" Sakura said.
Ignoring the furious glare being directed her way "What are you doing Sakura, we've barely fought, I want to go all out against you" Sasuke stormed over intent on giving the rosette a piece of his mind.
By continuing the fight whether or not she wanted to fight him anymore, she caught his hand easily and pulled him close "I'll kick your ass later if you want Sasuke, but right now we have bigger things to worry about such as a coup by Orochimaru" Sakura hissed in his ear.
Jerking back in shock Sasuke tensed "Well if that's how you feel I guess I have no choice, Sasuke Uchiha wins" Genma frowned, intending on calling out for the next match to start but Hidden Sound shinobi pouring into the arena interrupted that.
Little white feathers began floating down, Sakura weaved seals and flared her chakra out as far as she could, Karin did the same thing in the stand "How'd you know we were about to be attacked" Sasuke demanded.
Kicking a sound shinobi in the chest and heard a satisfying crack "Karin signed it to me, I learned of the coup from Hokage-sama and naturally I let Karin and Haku know about it as well" Sakura explained simply.
Charging her sword with lightning chakra, excess lightning crackled from her weapon, shocking anyone that happened to be close, then she spotted Kabuto who was sneaking towards Karin, her expression darkened.
And she was off like a bullet "Touch my sister and you die this time Kabuto" Sakura threatened, unsurprised that he'd evaded her first initial attack, to late though did she realize that he'd let her see him intentionally.
As she was grabbed only to experience the familiar feeling of the body flicker technique and get thrown into someone else's arms just as a double purple barrier rose over the booth the Hokage, Raikage and Mifune had been sitting in along with Orochimaru disguised as the Kazekage.
For a moment Sakura tried to shake off the dazed feeling before understanding how dire her situation currently was because Orochimaru was the one holding her "Ah ah Raikage I'll snap her neck if you take another step" Orochimaru warned.
Viridian met onyx "Brat trust me I'll get you away from him" Ay vowed, not having thought the rogue would stoop this low as to take a hostage, someone that he cared about to be precise, someone that another person on the roof cared about as well.
Given Mifune's stony expression, Kurosawa clenched tightly in his hand and unsheathed "Sakura will be coming with me once I kill Sarutobi-sensei, won't you Sakura, with your parents that I promise to bring back" Orochimaru chuckled darkly in the girls ear.
Having found something that would entice the girl to join him "D….Do you honestly believe that I would let you murder two people just so I could have my parents back, your delusional" Sakura scowled up at him.
Craning her neck to meet his gaze with hatred burning brightly in her irises, golden orbs widened a sliver at the vitriol in her voice "I don't see what the problem is, you'd have your parents all it takes is a small sacrifice" Orochimaru frowned.
"Morally corrupt bastard, to sacrifice someone else's life for my own happiness goes against every code I go by, even if I have to suffer their absence for the rest of my life I still wouldn't join you" Sakura bit out word by word.
And Orochimaru was forced to listen to each word loud and clear "I'll change your mind…for now though I need you to stay put and not get in the way, Lord First if you would restrain her please" Orochimaru requested.
Passing his captive over to the reanimated 1st Hokage who was under his control at the moment and wood coiled around her tightly restricting her movements, Sakura let a blank expression form on her face at Orochimaru's stupidity.
Even Ay was looking at the Sannin like he'd lost his mind because he knew what she was capable of, their gazes met for a second time and Sakura managed a small nod for the Raikage then closed her eyes intent on staying put for the time being.
That didn't mean she was idle though for she began immediately coming up with a plan to free herself and eventually thought of something after a few minutes and if she could do it for regular chakra natures then she could do it for others.
Decision on what to do in mind Sakura sat and watched the fight raging on right before her eyes, booms echoed continuously in her ears nearly deafening her, jutsu that she could only dream of using at the moment was used.
Grunts and yells sounded over the chaos while war waged on below as they were invaded by Sound and Sand until Rasa revealed himself, changing the tide so it was Leaf and Sand against Hidden Sound.
Because he refused to allow his people to be pawns in Orochimaru's scheme any further after a long, long fight for what Sakura felt could have been hours, Hiruzen flashed through hand signs "Ninja Art: Reaper Death Seal" he said.
Grabbing Orochimaru who started screaming, she nearly screamed herself when "You alright, do you need help out of that" a voice sounded right by her ear, Sakura whipped her head around and saw that the First Hokage had disappeared.
Only for a blonde with blue eyes that looked eerily similar to Naruto to have appeared in his place while she'd been distracted "Uh no I can manage" Sakura informed, regarding the young man warily as she flooded her arms with chakra.
To bust out of the wood that had been holding her "Step away from my Great Grand Niece" Mifune ordered, unveiling himself when the unfamiliar blonde stood way to close to Sakura for comfort, her gaze snapped to him.
Before she rushed forward "I mean no harm, I'm actually a bit confused as to how I got here to be honest, Minato Namikaze at your service Lord Mifune" the blonde introduced, knowing who it was that stood before him.
The pinkette at his side "4th Hokage-sama" Sakura bowed her head having heard the stories about Leaf's Yellow Flash from Ay, the only man who'd ever been able to match him in speed with his use of the Hiraishin seal.
Mifune quirked a brow down at her in response "Damn it brat, I expected you to break out of that long before this" Ay growled storming over now that things were calming down, Orochimaru was retreating, no longer able to use his arms or jutsu ever again.
Thanks to whatever Hiruzen had done though he'd paid the ultimate price for it and ended up dying "Ay what are you doing in Konoha" Minato frowned, recognizing the man even if Ay was now older than he remembered.
Then he saw where Ay was headed and stepped in Ay's path preventing him from reaching the girl "Move it Namikaze, we got a treaty with Leaf" Ay growled irritated that he'd been stopped from doing what he wanted.
Azure irises bore deeply into his own charcoal irises before Minato moved aside "Sorry Raikage-sama I'd planned on acting sooner but then I got distracted and realized it was probably best if I didn't try to help I'd have been useless" Sakura apologized.
Making it impossible for him to scold her "Perhaps it was the wisest decision to not get involved, good job brat, during your fight to" Ay nodded in agreement, ruffling her hair gently, praising the girl who'd done her best.
Upon mentioning her fight Sakura frowned and spread out her senses "I….I can't sense Naruto or Sasuke, or Nawaki or Karin, or Haku…." Sakura shook as a truly terrible feeling welled up on her and her heart beat painfully within her chest.
"Calm yourself, they are fine, being taken to the hospital as we speak, the reason being that they decided to chase after my youngest as he lost control of himself, I helped where I could but they still received some injuries" Rasa appeared on the roof a moment later.
Sakura relaxed and leaned heavily against Mifune "Ugh of course" Sakura sighed, rubbing her forehead as her skull pounded with nary a thought she healed it then straightened adopting a determined expression on her face.
"Your just going to let her go off on her own" Minato questioned, when Ay made no move to follow the rosette who marched towards the edge of the roof they were on and jumped off bravely a second later she could be seen heading for the exit of the arena.
So he looked to Ay again who shook his head "Nah…brat can pretty much handle herself, your lucky having her Mifune as a part of your family" Ay snorted, before turning to the Head Samurai as his escorts appeared.
To make sure their leader was unharmed, Rasa narrowed his eyes at the statement "Can I ask why Orochimaru had her taken hostage, it's not like she is from a great clan or wields a kekkeigenkai" Rasa questioned.
Ay tensed as a sneer formed on his face "Bastard curse marked her….actually what happened is that she got in the way when he tried to mark Uchiha's brat the one she was fighting so she got bit instead and survived" Ay growled.
Still furious over that "What I can't believe is that he thought he could manipulate her into joining him by offering to reanimate Mebuki and Kizashi" Mifune commented, not that he'd had to worry or anything.
Sakura had such an impenetrable will, with that the conversation was over because no one knew what to say to that, Sakura had defied the Snake Sannin three times now and still lived, for now though it was time to clean up the village and repair the damage that had been caused.